Colorado State vs. Texas March Madness Preview and Prediction
In the No. 10 vs. No. 7 matchup in the NCAA Tournament Midwest Region, the Colorado State Rams face the Texas Longhorns in first-round action.
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How to Watch Colorado State vs. Texas
When: 6:50 pm ET on Thursday, March 21st
Where: Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina
Watch: TNT
Odds for Colorado State vs. Texas
(odds current at time of publish)
Spread: Texas -3.5
Total: 143.5
DraftKings Betting Splits | Live College Basketball Odds | Colorado State vs. Texas Matchup
Midwest Region No. 10 Colorado State Rams
Niko Medved has proven to be one of the most underrated coaches in the nation. This Rams team tailed off a little after a scorching hot start to the season, but this is still a very good squad. And Colorado State has a guard that will give his team a shot at doing some big things in March, as Isaiah Stevens is just a fantastic basketball player. Stevens is a guy that can go out there and get you 20 points or 10 assists depending on the matchup. He’s cerebral at the point guard position, and he’s a very good shooter, too. Players like Stevens tend to do big things in this tournament, and it’s not like he doesn’t have any help. Colorado State also has good balance, with the team being top 50 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. The Rams already proved they were underseeded in beating down Virginia in the First Four.
Midwest Region No. 7 Texas Longhorns
This year’s team has been a little underwhelming after having returned some key contributors from last year’s promising squad. But the Longhorns are still a team that nobody wants to face in the tournament. Oral Roberts transfer Max Abmas is an electric perimeter scorer, capable of getting hot in a hurry. And Tyrese Hunter is a good backcourt mate for him, as he’s another guard that can create offense rather easily. The Longhorns also have a stud in forward Dylan Disu, who is a tremendous player on both ends of the floor. And there are several other players scattered throughout the rotation that can make things happen. Also, despite a mediocre record, the Longhorns are a top-20 team when it comes to offensive efficiency and they aren’t terrible defensively. So, they might not have figured things out during the year, but they have some upside.
Colorado State vs. Texas Preview & Prediction
A nation rejoiced as Colorado State knocked out Virginia, with the Cavaliers scoring just 41 points to once again raise the question of how the Selection Committee looked at UVA and saw a Tournament-worthy team. The Rams won by 26 to set up a matchup with Texas in the first round.
The truth is that Colorado State is a dangerous team from the generally underappreciated Mountain West. The Rams were better than being a play-in team and take a really good offense down to Charlotte for this game. Isaiah Stevens is about the best floor general you could ask for and the Rams are an extremely efficient team down on the block and in the mid-range. Stevens is a pure scorer with the jump shot and also one of the nation’s top passers.
This game will be a good litmus test to see if Texas is really any good or if they’ve been propped up by the strength of their conference. The Longhorns only won consecutive Big 12 games twice, so they were an up-and-down kind of team that graded pretty well in a lot of metrics, but struggled to find consistency.
Past NCAA Tournament hero Max Abmas is no longer with Oral Roberts, but he’ll get another crack at impressing on the big stage wearing burnt orange. The Longhorns come in as a top-65 team in both 2P% and 3P% and defended 2s really well, along with forcing a lot of turnovers. Their 3-point defense is a little suspect and that should be music to the ears of Stevens, who shot nearly 43% from 3.
Not only did Colorado State win, but they got to stay in a little rhythm as well, while Texas is going over a week between games.
Estimated score: Texas 72.2, Colorado State 72.2
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